Give A Little

 A little bit of happiness each day; one of the ways we are told to emotionally cope with the pandemic and general unrest in the world right now.

But the need that was present before 2020 is still there, pushed to the background, so the chronically downtrodden are suffering even more.

There is a way to help every day that is free to you and takes minutes. The added benefit is that you do this right from your computer, a place many of us spend too long using these days anyway.  Since today is World Cat Day, I thought I might give a little bit more by spreading the word about Greater Good.

Greater Good has been helping the world for decades. It is a well established, respected organization that is a presence worldwide. I chose dogs and cats to focus on, but they actively support the rainforest, autism, literacy, breast cancer, and a few more. 

Here is how it works. I will use animals as an example since that is what I know about. You sign up for a daily reminder email. That is worth kibble, defined as dog/cat dry food. Each morning you will get a reminder email. Open it up and click the link which will take you right to the contribution page. Simply click to give. You can leave at that point, having donated kibble, or click any of the other offered charities to"click and go "again. I can contribute to all of them in about 4 minutes. I also play the 2 question trivia each day. It is quick and easy and even if I get it wrong I give more kibble plus I learn and interesting little fact. Again, this is just the dog and cat portion but I am sure the others are similar.

I find that giving 4 minutes a day to Greater Good makes me feel like I contributed a little toward improving the world, which is the most that many of us can realistically do.

Please give this a try. It is one of few places where you can give and not be harassed to give more or have your email sold. GG is a charity that asks you to give 2 to 5 minutes a day without spending a dime. Of course you can also give money. 

Click this link to read more about Greater Good, or click here to go right to the click and give page to see how fast and easy this is. There is a subscribe button at the top.

I used to feel that my contribution to large problems was so small it was meaningless. Then a long time ago I read this sappy poem that changed my perspective. 

                    

COVID-19 Update: Only Cheese Should Be Aerosol

This morning We woke up to yet more disturbing news about COVID-19. Over 200 (some reports say 400) scientists worldwide have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to reclassify COVID-19 as an airborne virus and not just a respiratory virus.

The difference is huge and will change how strict our response will be.

Right now we know the virus spreads in large particles through coughing, sneezing and talking. Because these droplets are heavy they simply drop to the floor. You need close, prolonged contact with someone to become infected. This is what makes masks so vital. This is why only 6 feet separation is needed. (Its probably much less than 6 feet but err on the side of caution).

Airborne, or aerosol spreading means the virus travels on much smaller particles and, like a can of aerosol, it can hang in the air for a long time and travel much farther than it can in larger droplets. Some scientists are saying it might even be able to get into your air-conditioning (though almost certainly in concentrations too small to be infectious).

The WHO is the health ambassador for the world. It gets its data from scientists and doctors around the globe, so publishing has consequences. With no documented cases and a small percentage of scientists wanting them to call it airborne (aerosol) they cannot change what has been proven to work through experience without some scientific evidence.

The WHO has not agreed to change how COVID-19 is transmitted because there is no proof, not even one tiny study, that shows aerosol transmission. There are no documented cases of transmission this way either. Even if it is eventually proven to be aerosol, the virus is almost impossible to capture and detect except in a controlled environment. Therefore, we will still not know how far it can travel, how long it can live in that state and how much of a dose you will need to become infected.

We need to be careful what we take to heart. The media has had knee-jerk reactions to COVID-19, resulting in each report being of equal gravity. The public wants to know everything about this virus but in the process of telling us, they do not give us a degree of certitude. As a result, we see all information as equal. It is not the media’s job to assess, it is our responsibility to read and digest information and then give it the importance it deserves. We do not need to panic immediately just because we see it on TV.

As it stands, this story might fade off by the end of the week, or it may take off and change our world again. Right now it is a wait and see scenario.